Book PDF v4_Neat

The Everyday



























































By David Leverett



Preface



We moved from our inner city home in Wuhan to my wife's parents house on
the outskirts of the city on the 22nd of January, one day before the lockdown.
That was nearly 90 days ago.

Once the lockdown occurred on the 23rd the main artery's between the districts
were cut and we felt it was safer for the time being to stay where we were. In the
beginning we were allow to travel locally. To shop, to exercise very much in
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a s m i a a i o w h t h e K a s d o n e e s i e t i o w e e r t e i i s s r e s w e r

a similar vain to what the UK has done. Despite this however the cities streets were
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barely recognisable and eerily quiet. Shops were all closed down, and lone
souls wearing masks could be seen with one sole purpose, supplies. I usually
take a camera with me every where anyway but there was something telling me
this was different. The everyday had changed and it needed to be documented.
The everyday has been captured by many practitioners all with a specific
purpose. Gregory Crewdon (1962) closes whole streets down in an attempt to
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create his unique and often eerie vision. The abandon atmosphere he spends
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hours creating became a natural manifestation in a matter of hours. Imagines
of an abandoned Wuhan would then be sent around the world, a new normal had
been created one which had only seemed possible movies.



Chapter 1 - The last days outside



































































Time inside The News






The majority of people need a routine. It provides comfort, stability and I have never taken a photograph of the TV before or not that I can remember.
reassurance of what is to come. With that necessary or distraction gone, too much What changed. The news reports here were very much used as a tool. To
time is spent dwelling, thinking and just plain worrying. In between trying to present what was happening yet at the same time reassure people a great deal.
stay healthy and eating right, I got sick. A runny nose, fatigue combined with My Chinese is limited but the images which I saw on a consistent basis leave me
indigestion issues led to anxiety and stress and the feeling I needed to check in no doubt of its purpose.
my temperature every few hours. It wasn't just the illness, the week before while
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doing another assignment I had been all over Wuhan. To some train and bus
d o i g n t e r a s g n m e n t a e e n a l v e u h n o s m e a i n d u s Images of people in hospitals, communities working together and doctors
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fighting on the front line. A phrase which has now been used millions of times
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stations as well as near the area in which it was believed to have originated. f g h t n g n e o n t i e . h r s h c h h a o e e n u e d i l o n f i e s

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over the last few months. It has been presented as a war, a battle in which
The cold was persistent so much so that I felt like I needed to get it checked out, everyone is involved. This constant and consistent reproduction of imagery has,
at this stage of the outbreak less was known so I had to be sure.After a terrifying on a daily basis ensured people are aware there is a reason for concern but also
trip to the hospital in which I asked for every check possible I was given the all hope that the country was taking the right steps to contain the spread.
clear. Once healthy I needed something productive to do, a focus and a goal.
The OCA course that I have been doing really gave me that outlet and while my The role and impact on TV imagery has often been debated and with good
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e a l o r a k e d o u s r a l n a l d e t s a e o h a s a o m e reason as its influence has increased immensely. Susan Sontag a writer and
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early work lacked focus its really enabled me to escape from the days at home.
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photographer wrote about the role of film some fifty years ago which is still
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During this time the everyday seems to have more meaning, its ourprimary focus. relevant today. In her essay entitled the Imagination of Disaster (1965) she
We consider not what we’ve bought that day but how to pass the time. As Graham states that what disaster movies in particular have done is not only created
Clarke discusses in his book On Photography even the most basic of objects when escapism but have normalised disasters. This has been achieved blending two
placed under scrutiny can reveal themselves as something much more. On any extremes or as she puts it 'unremitting banality and inconceivable terror'
other day these images would meanlittle, yet as he states that is the beauty of (Suntag 1965). She points to large scale disaster movies which have possibly
the photograph. In that moment, the context of the situation grants the photograph normalized what is psychologically unbearable. In other words nothing we see
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significance beyond its simple nature. Simple objects and things which on a daily
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in print or on a screen can shock us anymore. Sontag called it compassionate
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basis we probably took for passed by or took for granted became metaphors for fatigue, a condition in which we become numb to what we see resulting a lack of
our lives and situation. response. Sadly our present day situations supports her theories as even when
confront with horrific real time events many people haven't taken the threat
seriously and are flaunting their freedom.



People Time






Living on the 17th floor ensures one thing you don't see people that often Going from spending at least three to six hours outside everyday to no time at
especially in a lockdown situation. Spotting people became a rarity, a game or all was difficult, it is for anyone. Capturing views from the window at the
something to savour, its funny what your mind thinks of when it has too much beginning was merely to pass the time and simply gave me something to do.
time on its hands. People going for a walk, collecting food or community Wuhan is famous for having only two seasons. Summers of 40 plus degrees and
workers taking food to the elderly just like on TV. Witnessing even the most below zero cold winters with nothing in between. Documenting evey day from
basic everyday acts would raise interest or suspicious. the same window for nearly three months would have never occured to me
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before this happened. It would have seemed too boring or monotonous. Being
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As time went on though jealous also seemed to play a part in these observations,
A s t m e e n t n o u h j a o s a l o e e e d l y a r h s b s r a i n s reminded that the world around us is presenting something new every day is a

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interest turned to frustration as even people walking around could anger me. one of the most valuable lesson I take from this time inside.
Other times though you saw a mirror of yourself, people alone reflecting on their
situation hoping for this to all be over soon. I must have spent hours looking out It wasn't always easy to keep it going. The same landscape, unchanged by the
of the window, half hoping something would happen but also with a new found dormant state of the city but like many journey's we don't often appreciate them
interest in the simple and ordinary. until the end. The photograph is a snap shot of the past, a moment in time which
will never be repeated, this is often a forgotten element of the landscape
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photograph when traditionally the focus is on aesthetics. The shifts in light, moving
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We dismiss the everyday actions of others around us as they go about their p h o t g r p h h e n a d i i n a l e c s i n a s h t c . h e s i t g h t o v n g
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b u s n e s . h i s p r b a b l h y m o s h t g r p h e s a o i h a a s p e o p l shadows and even the earth rotating around the sun, when you are documenting
business. This is probably why most photographers avoid the banal as people

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will see the everyday and disregard it straight away. Thier work should grab over such a long period of time it makes you appreciate how environmental factors
their attention as they don't have a lockdown holding the viewer in place. One have a huge impact on the landscape you are presenting as well as how small you
photographer who has always manage make the everyday intriguing is Jeff Wall are in comparison to it all.
(1946). His series A view from an apartment (2004/5) is particularly poignant.
Its a recreation, a staged moment in time which presents an interior view and The landscape photograph has often been associated with the sublime for which
exterior view of a normal day. There is something unsettling intriguing about Ansel Adams (1902 - 1984) is at the top of many peoples list. While there is no
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his work, is it the view outside or the detailed laden interior. It is nothing special
h s w o r , s i h i w u s d e r t e e t i e d d e n i t r o r t s n o t i g p e i l denying the natural beauty of the Yosemite national park where a lot of his work

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yet you can't help but investigate the scene at great length. Why are captivated? was taken there's more to his work than just that. His aim was to capture the essence
Could be because we subconsciously reminded of our own lives, and for the of the landscape and the feeling it elicited when you visited. Take one of his lessor
time we are viewing his work we actually take pleasure from the everyday. known photographs Picket Fence (1936) Its just a fence, yet Adams understanding
and use of light and contrast enables him to transform this simple object into
something special. While none of the images I took seem to match up to his work
it does gives you an insight into the level of attention to detail which is required.



Nightfall The small things






At night Wuhan transforms from a city in transition to a city of lights and wonder. While it took me a few weeks to get used to being under lockdown I can happily
Just like a snow covered day the night masks a cities imperfections and provides say that even after 80+ day I have adapted. I have a routine and have tried to
light and opportunity for capturing a wondrous landscapes. After a few evenings turn this negative into a positive by eating better, exercising more and getting
though it was reduced to a cliché where only the odd event would get my attention my course work done. As corny as it sounds as people we adapt and like many
as I attempted another half hearted workout on the balcony. I am sure this experience has reminded me to appreciative of my health as well
as my situation. It's the little things in our everyday that we take for granted.
One cliché of photography which did take on new meaning during the lockdown
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was the sunset. While the sunsets in the end actually meant more because they T h t s a l s g n i c a t o t e f P p s c e n l o t l f s f r n
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That usually insignificant bottle of Pepsi is in fact the only bottle of soft drink I

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demonstrated a passing of time it wasn't why I was initially draw to them. Clichés have had the whole time, a staggering statement I wouldn't have believed two
of this nature make up a large proportion of what we see on the internet. Beautiful months ago. The question now is, will I rebound and continue to drink unhealthy
sunsets, a person posing next to a landmark or even a selfie in which every pose drinks and food or will I stick to my new found healthily lifestyle. In a consumer
is the same. Sites like Instagram has given users a platform to flood the internet dominated world choice dictates our every move. We are focus on what to buy
with countless versions of the same view which has in some ways diminished or eat, the importance of the small everyday moments just cannot complete.
their impact. Yet we still continue to snap away. We are waiting to return to our everyday lives and I fear the lessons many have
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learnt during this time will be too quickly forgotten and indulgence will soon return.
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It can be described as the sublime. A word which has in fact been around since
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the first century C.E. It wasn't until the 18th century however when philosopher Its for that reason this last chapter is dedicated to those small things.
Edmond Burke (1729-1797) proposed his understanding of the concept that
it gained real traction. We have all experienced the sublime whether we are
aware of it or not. Its present in Caspar David Friedrichs' (1774-1840) 'Wanderer
above the sea of Fog (1818) or as I have mentioned many of Ansel Adams
photographs as well. Described by Burke as 'that the state of the soul in which

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all its motions are suspended, with some degree of horror'. Burke (1756) For

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Burke it was the line between light and dark, a moment we are astonished by
but also aware yet fearful of our morality. The sublime has also been heavily
connected to transcendence, that higher calling. This is generally the sensation
we feel when we see a sunset. We cant describe it but its that moment we stand
still and wonder, when we seem to have a heighten awareness for possible larger
forces which could exist. In the modern world people don't take enough time to
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enjoy those transcendent moments preoccupied with cliché photographs of their
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food or their favorite celebrity. Hopefully like me though many have taken this
time to enjoy the sublime around us.

David Leverett - Student number 517040